Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 26 The Keralam government will introduce a bill in the next session of the state Assembly to regulate charges levied by private hospitals, state Health Minister K Muraleedharan said on Monday.
Replying during the Question Hour in the Assembly, the minister said the government agreed in principle to the need to regulate private hospitals, many of which were now under the management of foreign companies.
He said hospital room rents and medicine prices were being increased without adequate control, while the situation had also led to some insurance companies becoming reluctant to provide insurance coverage.
“A bill to regulate this is in the pipeline of the state government. It will not be introduced in the current session, but will definitely be presented in the next session,” he said.
The minister also said the government had appointed a team, including the Principal Secretary, to identify a suitable location for an Ayurveda institute in Keralam following representations to the Union Ayush Minister.
The team had visited Delhi and was preparing a detailed report, he said.
On the functioning of spas without licences, Muraleedharan said existing laws prohibited such operations and that the Health Department had been instructed to conduct inspections at all spas. Health inspectors were carrying out inspections, and action would be taken when violations came to notice, he said.
To another question regarding alleged beauty treatments at Oushadhi, the state-owned Ayurvedic medicines manufacturer, the minister said a committee headed by the Health Department Principal Secretary had examined the matter following a media report.
The question referred to an alleged treatment involving eggs, hibiscus buds and citrus juice, reportedly linked to a former Oushadhi chairman, and sought to know whether it had been patented or officially approved by the institution and whether the treatment expenses would be recovered from the former chairman.
Muraleedharan said the committee’s report recorded that a treatment of the nature mentioned in the question had taken place. The report had been submitted to him, and no action had been taken so far, he said, adding that action might follow.
(PTI News)
